Thursday, April 18, 2013

On Saturday, May 11, the Winona campus will hold a joint ceremony including both Winona undergraduate and graduate students. A baccalaureate Mass will begin at 8 a.m. in Saint Thomas More Chapel, and the commencement ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in the gymnasium. The ceremony is expected to last approximately two hours. A reception will follow in the Plaza (or in case of inclement weather, Gostomski Fieldhouse).

Handicapped parking is available on campus. Anyone needing special accommodations for seating in the gymnasium should call Darlene Paulson at Ext. 1586 to make arrangements. In order to honor all handicapped section seating requests, only one additional guest may sit with the individual requesting handicapped seating. A sign language interpreter will be at the ceremony.

A year of Centennial celebrations and special events across the country will
culminate June 22 with the Red Carpet Gala.

The public is invited to join with students, families and alumni in a grand event that will mark the university’s first 100 years and propel it into a second century of transformational higher education.

Attendees of the Red Carpet Gala on June 22 will be treated like stars. The evening is designed to feel like the Oscars, with all the elegance and glamour of Hollywood transported to the Winona campus.

Guests will walk the red carpet from valet parking through "paparazzi" and into the transformed fieldhouse, where the 17-piece John Paulson Big Band will be performing. There they will be treated to specialty drinks, butlered hors d’oeuvres and a gourmet dinner served under glittering chandeliers.

A special program will be emceed by Bill Lunn ’87, news anchor of KSTP-TV in the Twin Cities.

The university’s Heritage Award will be given to Mike ’62 and Joette Gostomski of Winona, whose generous lifetime philanthropy has significantly transformed Saint Mary’s University.

Two special recognitions will honor the profound influence of the Christian Brothers on Saint Mary’s. Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, the order’s Superior General, will accept a Centennial Award on behalf of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and Brother Larry Schatz, Visitor, will accept a Centennial Award on behalf of the Midwest District of the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

A fireworks extravaganza will dazzle the campus and incorporate a portion of the “Centennial Suite” of commissioned music pieces. Music and dancing caps the evening, with entertainment provided by Nicholas David (finalist on NBC’s The Voice) and his band.

For more information or for Red Carpet Gala tickets, go to mysmumn.org/gala or call Ext. 6609.

In recognition of “Spruce Up Winona Day,” Saint Mary’s Volunteer Mentors group will organize volunteers in the community from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 20, to help local individuals, groups, churches and organizations in recognition of “Spruce Up Winona Day.”

The Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts’ Dance Repertory Company’s annual spring concert, Juxtapose, will be held 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26, and 3 p.m. Saturday, April 27, in Page Theatre.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens and are available at www.pagetheatre.org or by calling the box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Ext. 1715.

The DRC is the pre-professional performance group of the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts. Company members participate in rehearsals, technique classes, and stage performances.

This production will feature pieces from numerous genres of dance including hip hop, modern, jazz, tap, contemporary ballet and pointe. The theme is “collaboration” — with each piece incorporating another aspect of the arts from live music to multi-media, and much more!

These dancers currently train at the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts, Saint Mary’s University, and Winona State University. Juxtapose showcases their effervescent spirit, vibrant energy, and technical and artistic abilities that continue to inspire audiences year after year.

The next Let’s Do Lunch fundraiser, hosted by the Athletic Department on April 18 raised $318. Proceeds will be used for our students in Nairobi. The Volunteer Committee thanks everyone for attending events throughout the year; look forward to “Let’s Do Ice Cream” events this summer!

The annual Saint Mary’s “Row, Ride, Run Triathlon” will take place on Saturday, April 27, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Lake Lodge in Winona and finishing on SMU’s Winona campus. About 100 athletes from throughout the Midwest are expected to register for the race.

Participants will canoe or kayak a 2.5-mile loop around Lake Winona, then bike 14 miles from Lake Winona to the SMU campus. Once on campus, racers will run 3.1 miles through the bluffs surrounding the university. Proceeds assist Serving Others United in Love (SOUL). Through SOUL, students are able to connect with diverse communities by participating in national and international service trips.

Registration is $35 per individual or $70 per team. Teams can be made up of two, three or four members. The deadline to register is Saturday, April 20, and racers must provide their own canoes or kayaks.

Awards will be presented to the top three fastest individuals and the top finishing team.
Participants must be 10 or older to row or run and 15 or older to bike.

Beth Rajdl, Colin Sheehan and Kyle Romanchuk were named the winners in the recent Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Business Plan competition. In addition, this year’s contest had a “Rookie” division, and Jace Pater and Clare Siska submitted the winning plan in that division. A total of $1,500 in prize money was distributed.

The Kabara Institute aims to incite a passion for entrepreneurial spirit in students across the university, regardless of their major field of study. The institute’s goal is to provide opportunities for students to interact with entrepreneurs and experience entrepreneurship first-hand, and to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in our society.

In celebration of Entrepreneurship Week, the Kabara Institute sponsored a number of speakers this week. Look for more Kabara-sponsored events and student competitions during the next academic year.

The Saint Mary’s Concert Choir and Chamber Singers — under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea — will present a spring concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located at 7th and Vila streets.

Guests will include the Northwestern College Varsity Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Tim Sawyer, and the SMU Chamber Orchestra.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students and are available at www.pagetheatre.org or at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A free stage combat workshop will be offered Tuesday, April 30 (for ages 10 to 16) and Wednesday, May 1, (for ages 16 and older) at the Valéncia Arts Center, located at 10th and Vila streets. The event is 4 to 5:30 p.m. and no pre-registration is required. It is being held in partnership with Great River Shakespeare Festival.

Violence is a part of the life we create on stage, and there isn’t always a fight choreographer to help. Actors and directors need to know how to tell a clear story with violence and how to perform it safely. In this workshop participants will learn basic principles of unarmed stage combat that will help them create simple, safe and effective violence on stage.

Saint Mary’s Delta Epsilon Sigma (DES) chapter congratulates the following students. Delta Epsilon Sigma is a national scholastic honor society for colleges and universities with a Catholic tradition.

The executive committee of the National Delta Epsilon Sigma organization selected Sarah Anderson, a biology pre-physical therapy major, to receive a Fellowship for Graduate Study. In addition, the executive committee selected Amanda Weber, a psychology major, to receive a Scholarship for Undergraduate Study. Only 12 students were selected from national pools of applicants for these two awards.

Further, Anna Sonday, a history and business marketing major, received the National Student Award recognizing her outstanding scholarship and service.

Witness for Peace – Upper Midwest is hosting Elizabeth Cuero Badillo, the secretary of education for Buenaventura’s chapter of the Portworker’s Union, to share her experiences as a female labor leader in Colombia’s dangerous ports. She will speak 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the Common Room.

The event is hosted by the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, the Saint Teresa Leadership and Service Institute for Women, and the Peace and Justice Club.

Badillo has been organizing for over 15 years in the deadliest country for union organizers, leading various actions for just working conditions in Colombia’s principle port city of Buenaventura.

Hearing about the reality of life in Buenaventura is especially significant on the eve of the one-­year anniversary of the U.S.-­ Colombia Free Trade Agreement; 60 percent of Colombian imports and exports pass through Buenaventura, and its strategic location makes it a center of much organized violence.

Badillo will share what privatization and free trade have meant for Buenaventura’s Afro-­Colombian community, who make up nearly 90 percent of the municipality’s population. Her major goals are to achieve recognition and respect for worker’s rights, increase women’s participation in organizing, and end discrimination against women port workers.

Chun Chim (David) Leung has recently returned from a one-week recruiting and concert tour in Colombia.

In Medellín, Leung visited San Jose College and Corporacion Universitaria Lasallista and met with Brother Edwin Arteaga (faculty and board member of Humanities at Lasallista) and Brother Leondro (the school principal at Colegio San Jose de la Salle). He taught some students and played a recital for more than 100 students and teachers at San Jose. Many students expressed their interest in coming to SMU in the future. He also had lunch with Lasallista president J. Eduardo Murillo Bocanegra and his international relations staff to build future collaboration opportunities for recruiting and exchange programs, especially English/Spanish majors.

The rest of the week included teaching many masterclasses and performing with Universidad EAFIT sinfonica at various places, including EAFIT and Juan Corpas university in Bogota.

The last two issues of “Campus Notes” before summer will come out April 26 and May 3. The deadlines for these issues are April 24 and May 1. “Campus Notes” will return in mid-June and come out every other week to update the SMU community on all the news and events that occur on campus during the summer.

Members of the Public Relations/Business Club visited with members of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ communications staff on April 5 at Target Center. The trip was arranged and hosted by SMU alumnus Alex Conover. Other SMU alumni and Timberwolves staff who spoke with the students included Ryan Tanke and Pat Freeman.

Today (Friday) is the last day of the campaign; if you would like your gift to be included, please make a gift online at www.smumn.edu/employeegiftform or return your employee giving packet to the Development Office at Box 21. Call Andrea Pengra at Ext. 1791 for more information.

Saint Mary’s recognized outstanding senior students Friday, April 12, at the annual Honors Convocation. Highlights of the evening included the announcement of graduate and professional school acceptances, grants and fellowships, and the awarding of the following special honors:

“Bidder 70,” a new documentary about climate activist Tim DeChristopher, will be shown Monday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m. in WSU’s Somsen Hall auditorium. The feature-length movie is a film festival favorite. It chronicles DeChristopher’s civil disobedience during an auction for federal land in Utah, which landed him in federal prison for 21 months. He is being released April 21. After the screening, DeChristopher will speak to audiences online, from Salt Lake City, and conduct a live Q & A.